Daily Bulletin

Friday, January 5, 2001

Committee will raise scholarship issue

Colloquium explores health and air quality

Student seats open on UW senate

The first weekend of the term

Still more snowis falling this morning, and the white stuff blankets
the campus -- though it probably isn't really 6,999 millimetres deep at the
north campus weather
station, as a flaky sensor has been claiming. Barb Elve of the
information and public affairs office caught this view yesterday
morning near the Chemistry-Biology link.

Committee will raise scholarship issue

The possible need for a "scholarship grid" at UW, a chart that
guarantees scholarships to incoming students based on their grades,
will be raised at this month's meeting of the university senate, says
the chair of the senate committee on scholarships and student aid.

"There is a desperate need for something in the form of scholarship
grids to be implemented," says Ian Williams, the kinesiology professor
who has chaired the committee for many years. He'll be presenting the
issue when the senate meets on January 15.

Williams noted that the committee hasn't made a recommendation about
such "grids", which are in use at a number of Ontario universities. Its
report to senate does mention them, citing an "interest" in grids,
"prompted by survey results that often cite 'lack of an adequate
scholarship' as the main reason for students not attending the
University of Waterloo."

Beyond question, says the report, a system of guaranteed scholarships
would be expensive, with annual spending of $3 million to $5 million
a year. "Waterloo currently spends approximately $750,000 on entrance
scholarships." Spending that kind of money would require an endowment
of perhaps $50 to $80 million, not an easy sum for UW to find.

Says Williams: "I will bring it back to the committee. This is too
important just to say, 'that will be difficult'."

An appendix to the report lists the entrance scholarships that were
awarded in September 2000, including 49 in applied health sciences
(at $1,000 apiece), 98 in arts (average $1,150), 116 in
engineering (average $3,000), 41 in environmental studies ($1,000),
79 in mathematics (average $2,675), and 9 in science ($1,950). A
further 41 scholarships averaging $2,800 were awarded to students in
"any faculty".

Besides scholarships, which are based on marks, UW handed out 661
entrance bursaries of $3,000 apiece, based on need, the committee
report says. That represents 15.4 per cent of the 4,305 first-year
students who arrived this September.

Colloquium explores health and air quality
-- from the UW news bureau

The series of five international colloquiums
is aimed at providing a clearer understanding
of the public health implications of research on health effects related to
air quality, said John Shortreed, professor emeritus of civil engineering and
a member of UW's
Institute for Risk Research.

As part of the linked series, the first annual colloquium, "Health and
Air Quality 2001: Interpreting Science for Decision-Makers", will be held
January 29-30 at the Ottawa Congress Centre.
"Our goal is to bring together scientists, policy makers, and
stakeholders to share perspectives on the implications of health effects
research for policy decisions on particulate matter and to understand
uncertainties based on a comprehensive debate of the issues," Shortreed said.

He added that epidemiological research carried out over the past
20 years provides a foundation for policy decisions to protect public
health from long term exposure to airborne particulate matter.
"The prime focus is not the detailed discussion of the results of
studies, but to relate findings to public health issues and identify future
research studies and directions that will aid policy-makers."

At the colloquium, presentations and discussions will focus on these
questions:
What is known about the health effects of air quality?
What is not known? What is the range of uncertainty?
Which health effects are significant for policy options?
Based on a structured debate, what is the interpretation of the
available science?
What feasible research should be done? Short-term? Longer-term?

The colloquium papers, including the summary document, will be published
in a special issue of the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health.

Student seats open on UW senate

About the UW senate

Nominations are requested for the following undergraduate student
seats on the UW senate:

Elections (terms from May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003):

One student elected by and from the full-time undergraduate
students in each of the following Faculties: Engineering and Mathematics.

One student elected by and from UW full-time undergraduate students.

By-elections (terms to April 30, 2002):

One student elected by and from the full-time undergraduate
students in each of the following
Faculties: Applied Health Sciences, Arts and Environmental
Studies/Independent Studies.

One student elected by and from UW full-time undergraduate students.

Nomination forms are available from the Secretariat, the Federation
of Students Office, and
on the secretariat web site.
At least five nominators are required in each case. Nominations
should be sent to the Chief Returning Officer, Secretariat, Needles
Hall, Room 3060, no later than 3:00 p.m., Friday, January 19, 2001.

Elections will be conducted electronically; the polls will be open
from 6:00 p.m., Friday, February 9 to 7:00 p.m., Friday, February 16.

The first weekend of the term

Auditions wind up tonight for this year's
FASS show ("2001: A FASS
Oddity"), which hits the Humanities Theatre stage
February 1-3. According to FASS tradition, everybody who wants to appear
on stage gets sort of part, and a major role of the auditions is just to
see how big the chorus is going to be.
As the show's name suggests, Faculty, Alumni, Students and Staff
are all welcome. Auditions run from 7 to 10 this evening in Humanities room 378.

Worship services are back on the regular schedule at UW's church
colleges. The University Catholic Community, at St. Jerome's
University, celebrates Epiphany this week with Mass at 5 p.m. Saturday
and 9:30, 11:30 and 7 p.m. on Sunday. (Weekday noon Masses will resume
for the season next Tuesday.) Anglican services at Renison
College resume with Holy Communion at 10:30 on Sunday morning.

Sports this weekend: The hockey Warriors host Wilfrid Laurier's
Golden Hawks at the Columbia Icefield, Sunday at 2 p.m. Away from
campus, the track and field team is at the Western Invitational for the
day Saturday; the basketball teams play at WLU on Saturday (women at
12 noon, men at 2 p.m.).

"Last term," says a note from the co-op education and career services
department, "many of the graduating students didn't know that there
was a job information session available to them on what kind of
services they have as graduating students." Let that not happen again:
here's word for students who are on the last lap of their undergraduate
careers that a job information session will be held Monday afternoon.
It runs from 3:30 to 4:30 in the Humanities Theatre. Topics will include web
site registration, job interviews and the application process, employer
information sessions, important dates and deadlines, career development
seminars and workshops, and the job fair.

Word from the human resources department:
"The Bridging the Gap Retirement Training Program will be offering two
6-week sessions beginning January 30 and April 17 respectively. The
sessions are held at the Rockway Centre, 1405 King Street East in Kitchener,
on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The cost is
$45 per person or $75 per couple. If you are interested in registering for
either of these sessions, please contact Wendy Fifield at the Rockway
Centre, 741-2507."